Change Your Mindset, Indian Top Court Tells Government – and Rules for Same Rights for Men and Women in the Army

India’s Supreme Court has stood up for gender equality in the army, ruling that women could serve as army commanders, and ordering the government to extend permanent service to all female officers.

The judgement allows for female soldiers to have the same rights – including ranks, promotions and pensions – as men, and they can also now serve for longer periods.

The court highlighted that the government’s views of men not being ready to accept taking orders from female officers is “disturbing”, urging “the need for change in mindsets to bring about true equality in the army”.

“They (judges) have completely negated all the farcical stands raised by the army to deny women equal opportunities,” says Aishwarya Bhati, a lawyer who represented female officers at court, to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “These battles are watershed moments not just for women in the Indian army, but for women across the world.”